A deal on Iran's nuclear programme could be concluded this week if the United States and other Western countries have sufficient political will and agree to remove sanctions on Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday.

Fresh from an embarrassing rebuke at the hands of conservatives in his own party, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner played down any risk to his continuing leadership on Sunday, saying disagreements with fellow Republicans were merely over strategy, not goals.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will defend Israel at a U.N. human rights body on Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to criticize nuclear negotiations with Iran that the top diplomat is leading.

LONDON, March 1 – John Terry earned the 13th major winner's medal of his 20-year Chelsea career on Sunday with a commanding defensive performance and his first Cup goal, then urged his young team mates to use the win over Tottenham as a springboard to more success.

Congress narrowly averted a partial shutdown of the U.S. domestic security agency late on Friday night, but the forces behind the chaotic episode remain - fractious Republicans and House Speaker John Boehner's lack of control over them.

The U.S. military has begun vetting a group of Syrian rebels eligible for training and assistance in the fight against Islamic State militants, a step that paves the way for training to begin in weeks, the Pentagon said on Friday.